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The Affordable Care Act has been great for the U.S., providing insurance coverage to millions of young people and those with pre-existing conditions while giving millions of seniors access to wellness checks, said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press." Instead of voting to repeal ACA, Republicans "should just get real and understand this is a law that's important, and they need to work with us to improve it," he said. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the Affordable Care Act is getting more unpopular and it could be the top issue in next year's elections.

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Republican lawmakers in 33 states wrote to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and to state congressional delegations urging them to take action if the Supreme Court invalidates tax credits for health insurance plans sold through HealthCare.gov, according to the Foundation for Government Accountability.

Certain parts of the Affordable Care Act do not affect the federal budget and thus may not be subject to repeal under the reconciliation procedure under Senate rules. Moreover, rules for budget reconciliation require that the deficit be reduced, and options to make repeal budget-neutral would be politically unpopular, observers say.

Conservatives are determined that a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act should be passed next year by the Senate despite a possible veto from President Barack Obama. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., should use reconciliation to force through a measure with 51 votes, conservatives said.

GOP officials acknowledged that even with their new power in Congress, they will be unlikely to obtain a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is in line to be the majority leader, said his party will instead take aim at "pieces of it that are deeply, deeply unpopular with the American people."

Likely incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he will repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety. In addition to winning the Senate, Republicans also expanded their majority in the House in the midterm elections, setting the stage for ongoing ACA repeal efforts. However, full repeal of the ACA will be difficult, as Senate Republicans do not have a filibuster- or veto-proof majority.